


Meet You In Paris

by varibean



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, a summary of an rp and i had a super fun time writing it with my bff!, i hope yall like it!, it's a bullet point story!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23796436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/varibean/pseuds/varibean
Summary: After Zhan Tiri is defeated, Varian has settled into what should be his happy ending but he is still unhappy and feels unfulfilled in his role as the royal engineer in Corona. He feels as if something else is calling him elsewhere. With his fathers reluctant blessing, he leaves Corona to find his purpose, diving into the true form of alchemy as a religion, but soon finds that his destiny is taking him towards the dark kingdom and the former laboratory of Demanitus.During his journey he comes across what he believes to be a Goddess trapped inside of a crystal. Upon releasing her he realizes that what he thought was a Goddess is really a girl, with a very large attitude and no memories of her past. He’s determined to help her, even as her earth powers begin to become apparent and he again questions if she is really a Goddess after all.He’s worked so hard on this path towards righting the wrongs of his past and becoming a true alchemist. But through the story he’s faced with the hard fact that what a true alchemist is might not be what he had expected it to be.
Relationships: Varian/OC, varian/original character
Kudos: 10





	Meet You In Paris

**MEET YOU IN PARIS-CHAPTER ONE**

**  
*******

Written by: Varibean and Strapple

Art by: Varibean and Strapple (unless otherwise sourced)

_Rating: PG-13 (rly more like PG tbh)_

_Warnings: Mild language, Mild injury description, Nondescriptive mention of limb loss, Super tame closed mouth kisses._

_Canon Characters: Varian_

_New Original Characters: Amalthea_

**\-------------------------------------------**

**A few months after Tangled the Series comes to an end.**

****

    * After the events of the show Varian finds himself falling into a drudgery. He was happy as the Royal Engineer for a few months, but soon the title begins to wear on him. 
    * He wants to spend more time in the Demanitus Chamber, but he’s also getting older and knows that soon his father will start to train him more in the ways of being a village leader
    * Though he loves his village and his father, he feels an impending sense of emptiness at the thought of never going anywhere or doing anything outside of Corona 
    * His wanderlust doesn’t come from contempt; he wants to be the best leader for his people and the best heir to his dad’s title that he can be because he loves his village very much 
    * But he feels like he can never be truly happy with himself and the life he’s supposed to lead without going out and discovering himself first. 
    * [**Accompanying Audio**](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Yw4lE_w9JcTVi4_twWpc0yFfllrHG-ys) **\- for following scene.** **(Loud audio warning. Song has had unexpected effects added throughout)**



  * **♫One night while headed to the Demanitus Chamber, thinking over what he should do with his life and being torn between his village and his own desires (which he views as selfish but important at the same time, causing a great inner conflict of interests) he feels a pull inside him to...somewhere♫**



  * He doesn’t know where exactly, but it’s a feeling that persists and grows stronger every day, that even though he’s surrounded by all he’s ever wanted, he still doesn’t have what he needs
  * During a deep study of his books, he decides he wants to reconnect with what it means to be an alchemist; not just the scientific part but the lifestyles and ideals of mythicality, that he’d previously denied
  * After a talk with his dad, they both come to the conclusion that he take some time to himself, exploring what he wants to explore and trying to connect to the roots of his study before he’s ready to continue his training to be the new leader of Old Corona
  * He goes back to his simpler study of crystals and elements, while also studying gods and goddesses across all cultures



[ Art by Oana ](https://1a-lchemist.tumblr.com/)

  * Along his travels he comes across an old beat up caravan, which he totally gives the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition treatment to:



~*~*~*~~**~*~*~~***~**~*~*~**

  * While he waits to finish making the caravan mobile, he finds an amethyst crystal unlike one he has ever seen. Inside there is a girl with pink hair in a white gown. He is sure that she is a Goddess



  * Since he’s started his journey into following the ways of the alchemist, he decides to free her.
  * Later after he frees her he starts to question his actions; he’s reminded of his father being trapped in the amber but also starts to worry that, if she is a goddess, maybe she didn’t wanna be woken up.
  * She is unconscious, and he decides to take her back to the caravan he salvaged until she wakes.



  * The girl wakes up, startled and afraid. Ruddiger tries to comfort her but she is confused. She has no memory of who she is or where she is. 
  * Varian greets her and immediately bows, offering his services and calling her a holy Goddess. This freaks her out. 
  * She demands to know what he did to her, only remembering that when she was asleep she was warm and safe and now she is cold and uncertain. 
  * Varian explains that he found her in a rock and she becomes royally pissed off, demanding that he put her back. 
  * He explains that he can’t do that since he has melted the crystal into a near glass like state with only bare elements and mica and that he felt like saving her was the right thing to do. 
  * She realizes that he means no harm, though she thinks he’s quite stupid, and then blandly asks if theres any adults around. 



  * Varian insists that he is pretty much almost an adult and then adds that Ruddiger is an adult in raccoon years. He promises he has everything under control and refers to her as a holy Goddess.
  * She’s still pretty freaked out, and tells him that she doesn’t remember anything. 
  * He asks her if she remembers her name, which seems to piss her off even more because she literally just told him less than a minute ago that she doesn’t remember anything. She asks if he can show her the crystal that she was trapped in.
  * Varian realizes that there is some sadness and confusion in her anger and he tries to be more gentle. He explains that he used his alchemy on the crystal and all that is left is pieces of glass. Only he does it in a Varian way- that has a lot of big words and takes much longer than necessary. 
  * After at least five minutes of Varian explaining alchemical reactions and chemical makeups of differing gemstones and glass, she interrupts him to ask if he’s sure there aren’t any adults around. 
  * This time, Varian admits that sure he isn’t an adult, but the only adults are in a village a few miles away. Determined to prove to her that he’s capable, and worthy of helping a Goddess, he suggests they go back to where he found her to see if it sparks any memories. 
  * She doesn’t respond to him at first, which is something Varians used to from girls so he just accepts it. She takes this quiet moment to really look at him for the first time, noticing that he really isn’t as young as she originally thought. She then realizes that she doesn’t know how old _she_ even is and immediately becomes melancholy. 
  * He attempts to placate her by showing her a small piece of glass he did recover from the site of her gemstone. She holds it in her hands, and is disappointed that she feels no sort of connection to it. 



[ Art by TangledINArt ](https://tangledinart.tumblr.com/)

  * Looking out the window into the night sky, her stomach feels sick when she thinks about how alone she is. The thought of going out into the cold frightens her, even as she realizes that this boy only means to help her. 
  * She pulls the curtain closed on the window, as if the night sky just existing offends her, and asks if they can go in the morning when it isn’t so cold. 
  * Varian perks up when she seems to shift from her anger, though he worries that it's changed to sadness. He loves the part where he’s not in trouble anymore, but hates the part where she’s sad. Girls are complicated. Especially holy ones. 
  * He notices that as she tries to get out of bed she lacks coordination and muscle control, and immediately helps her to keep her from falling. He gently suggests that she rest a few days first, but promises that as soon as she can walk again, he will help her find the crystal and do everything to get her the answers she needs. 
  * Varian is already beginning to falter on his stance that she is a Goddess, given her lack of memories and demeanor. But he still continues to bow and treat her as such, just in case. When she agrees that she will rest until she can walk again he calls her milady which makes her laugh. 
  * He tells her that he’s an alchemist, and then she asks if that means he fixes teeth.
  * He wants to ask her what exactly she thinks an alchemist is but, for the record, he would very much go into Dentistry and get a DDS just so he wouldn’t have to correct her. But he still tries to correct her. Because he’s just like that. But the correction is to no avail.
  * She seems to relax to the strange situation and asks if he makes it a habit to rescue beautiful damsels in distress in the forest. 
  * Varian blushes but tries to hide it with a laugh as he explains that “he’s no Flynn Rider” but he _has_ saved people before. Although he admits that he hasn’t saved any pretty girls from rocks recently.



  * She lies and says she totally knows who Flynn Rider is and then immediately asks him why he said pretty girl when she asked about a beautiful damsel. He’s flustered and nervous but she cuts him off asking his name. 



  * Varian bows, mostly to hide his blush, and introduces himself by his full name. Varian Flamel Quirinson. He asks yet again if she possibly remembers her own name. 
  * Seeing him blush and act like a normal teenage boy makes her feel a lot better, even if she thinks he’s silly for continuing to bow to her. She thanks him for rescuing her and apologizes for being so angry, but then becomes visibly sad when she admits that she does not remember her own name. It makes her feel like she might as well not exist at all. 
  * She asks if he could give her a name to borrow until she figures out her real one. 
  * He’s quiet for a moment, in shock that she would ask him such a thing. Names held such an important weight, and here she was asking him to give her one. Though she seems to grow impatient so he quickly comes up with a name from a book of myths that sounded pretty. And since she was a pretty girl he figures it fits. Amalthea. 
  * She likes the name, repeating it out loud for herself, and thanks him. She also adds that she promises she won’t tell any of the other damsels he’s rescued that he gave her such a unique and pretty name. 
  * Varian manages a laugh through his blush but he is still on the ground kneeling like an idiot and she asks him nicely to stop. Which makes him nervous and a bit confused. Does he dare to stop bowing to a Goddess? Or does he dare to defy her wishes? While he figures this out in his head she stares at him lamely and tells him that she thinks she’ll go back to sleep now since it's still dark outside. 
  * He’s about to ask if she needs anything else, but she’s already helped herself to pull the curtain closed on the bed and curl up beneath the blankets. Her exhaustion keeps her from focusing on how afraid and alone she is, and she falls asleep almost immediately. 
  * Varian isn’t sure if she will be okay, but upon hearing her snore, he smiles and relaxes. 
  * She did steal his bed though, so he’s banished to the above bunk because what’s he going to do? Tell her she can’t sleep there? He’s an idiot, not a monster.
  * He thinks to himself that no matter what the outcome of this is, he can’t help but feel like his uncertain path has just become… well… a bit more uncertain. 
  * ~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~**~*~*~*~
  * Varian stays awake late into the night, pouring over the few books he has in hopes of some sort of answer to Amaltheas very unusual situation. He eventually falls asleep at the table. 
  * Amalthea wakes up just as the sun rises, but doesn’t bother to try to wake Varian. Instead she sits in bed, muttering mild obscenities under her breath as she pokes her legs to try to get them to move properly.
  * Eventually, her complaints wake him up and he watches her attempts quietly as he waits for an appropriate time to interrupt so as to not embarrass her. 
  * She manages to get her legs to bend, and then erupts into joyful laughter as she begins to wiggle her own toes. 3
  * Varian clears his throat to get her attention and although she clearly has heard him, she ignores it as she slowly begins to move her legs off the bed and presses her feet to the floor. He waits a moment and tries again, desperate to help and also just to be acknowledged that he exists. 
  * He glosses over a good morning greeting and reminds her that he is an alchemist and maybe he could find a way to help her if her muscles have not gained their strength yet, hoping that at least offering some sort of assistance might make her remember that he’s… alive.
  * He finds it both frustrating and fair that he’s the only human she knows and she still ignores him.
  * He tries to warn her that after going so long without moving her limbs probably need to build up muscle again before walking and that she’ll, you know, fall if she tries too hard.
  * She doesn’t mean to be entirely rude and ignore everything he says. It’s only that she’s now incredibly fixated on her new goal that it seems like she’s being rude and ignoring everything he says. 
  * Carefully, she holds onto the bed and stands up. She wobbles where she stands, extending her arms for balance, and then _finally_ looks up at him. 
  * Then, proving that she actually _had_ been listening to him the night before, she pretends that she knows what an alchemist is but just to be sure, asks if that’s a person who fixes teeth. 
  * Just when he’s beginning to think that she truly must be a Goddess, able to stand after who knows how long of lying idle- she says _that_.
  * Very carefully, so as not to insult the very stupid thing she’s just asked, he asks her what she thinks an alchemist is.



  * He wonders why she thinks, if he could fix teeth, why he would continue looking Like He Does. 
  * He then tries to explain to her again why she should not try to walk, in hopes that it will cement that he knows what he’s talking about and he’s very much not just a dentist. 
  * She ignores him and takes a few steps forward, and he is proven to be an idiot. It’s not an uncommon feeling and he actually smiles, thinking to himself how nice it is that she was able to prove him wrong and stand on her own.
  * Her success makes him feel happy. More happy than he normally would when proven wrong, and in spite of his urge to help her as she takes her wobbly steps he stands back and lets her do it on her own instead.
  * Just as she’s about to open her mouth to explain what she thinks an alchemist is, she trips on her own legs and stumbles forward. 
  * Varian catches her, extremely glad that he is focusing on her healing and progress instead of her pretty girl status because he would be blushing and dying otherwise.   



  * She’s quiet for a moment, holding onto his shoulders to keep steady, and takes that chance to look over his features closely. She notes to herself that his eyes are kind and the freckles on his cheeks make it hard for her to remember that he’s not just another kid like she is. He’s an alchemist- a- What was that again? 
  * Finally, she answers him, and explains to her what she thinks an alchemist is, which involves cleaning and repairing teeth, watching as his expression fades from embarrassed and blushing boy to raised eyebrows and completely dumbfounded. She concludes, now embarrassed, that she supposes that she must be mistaken on what an alchemist is. 
  * He can’t help it as he begins to laugh, easing her embarrassment as he explains that an alchemist and a dentist are quite different. One works with teeth and the other works to transform materials into different materials. This time it seems to finally go through to her.
  * He doesn’t make her feel stupid for the misunderstanding, which she appreciates greatly. Finally, she awkwardly thanks him and says that she’s glad that an alchemist found her instead of a dentist. 
  * Desperate to move away from the strange situation that has her in his arms, Varian asks if she wants to eat before they go. That is, if she can even remember what preferences she has for food. 
  * She says maybe she likes potatoes, but then asks quite plainly that she’d rather him help her learn to walk instead. 
  * He starts to help her take slow steps and tries to reassure her that her muscles just need to regain their strength and it should only be temporary. 
  * Only instead of being appreciative for his explanation, she gets angry, and tells him to stop explaining muscles to her because she knows what muscles are and her brain works fine. Except of course for the memory loss. And then immediately is embarrassed and frustrated with herself especially as the steps become harder to take. 
  * Varian apologizes immediately, since he’s used to people telling him to stop talking when he starts going off on scientific tangents. This makes her feel awful, because it would be a lot easier for her to be mean to him if he wasn’t so sweet and pathetic.
  * She feels bad for being so harsh with him when he was only trying to help, and immediately asks if they can please just do something else. 
  * Varian helps her sit back down and suggests maybe she try to just swing her legs back and forth to get some strength in them. He promises that from now on he’ll just assume she knows something until she tells him otherwise- unable to stop saying sorry for his attempts to help her. 
  * After a few moments of silence and leg swinging, she quietly and shyly tells him that she didn’t know what he’d told her about muscles. And thanks him for explaining it. 
  * Varian isn’t sure if she’s being genuine, since all of his life his quirks have been tolerated at best- IF someone needs him for something. But he wants to help, so he does his best to hide his insecurity. 
  * She inquires about his age, asking how old he thinks she is in hopes that it might help her remember. He tells her that he’s almost seventeen and she doesn’t look much older or younger than him but it all depends on genetics and since she doesn’t know her family then he can’t be sure- which of course upsets her even more. 
  * Desperate to change the subject again he asks if she’d like to eat, but she’s determined to take control of her hopeless situation and asks if he could use his alchemy on her rock to figure out how old it is- hoping that maybe that will give them a clue or a starting point. She becomes excited about her own idea, and even adds that he’s clearly a great alchemist, since he got her out in the first place. So he must have the ability to figure out her age. Maybe she’s buttering him up a little for her gain, but he might as well be a piece of toast because he doesn’t seem to mind. 
  * He’s flattered, but admits that it isn’t a foolproof idea. He spends about six minutes explaining the chemical makeup of gemstones and rocks and how he changed the elements and something about mica so it might not work exactly and she does her best to follow him this time. By the time he’s done he asks if he made sense and she just says “uh huh” and proclaims that maybe it wouldn’t work for a normal alchemist but surely it would work for a master alchemist like himself. 
  * He’s flattered by her words, and wonders if maybe in fact she is a goddess after all and he’s being tested. He spends a few minutes pondering over theories, and finally concludes that if he takes a sample of her blood and cross references the data he can collect on the stone maybe he’ll find a correlation since she’s been in it for so long. 
  * She seems uneasy about the fact that she might have somehow become a part of the rock or she came out of it different than when she went in. She’s afraid if she does meet her family they might not even recognize her. But she masks these fears with a joke- managing a smile as she asks if he takes blood samples from all the girls he rescues in the forest, or just the pretty ones.
  * Missing the joke, he immediately begins to tell her a story of a time he took a womans blood in Old Corona to trace the source of an illness to prove that he’s more than capable. Amalthea begins to laugh, small at first, but then she cannot contain it as she bursts out laughing at how absurd the entire situation is. He isn’t sure if she’s laughing at him, but she reassures him through tears of laughter that no- she is not. She’s just very happy that someone like him found her. 
  * He’s a little disappointed when she stops laughing, finding himself enjoying it a lot. 
  * She extends her arm and demands he take her blood immediately. 
  * Nervously, he whimpers that he’s not quite ready yet. He needs to psych himself up. And unsure of what he means, she asks if he wants her to- ‘like hit you or something’
  * He blandly says he’d rather her not, and then admits that he’s squeamish around blood. That's why he doesn’t eat meat. 
  * They agree to give him some time to come up with a mechanism that will let him take her blood without him seeing it, and spend the day in the caravan as she slowly begins to regain her strength. He attempts to get her to eat but she still doesn’t have an appetite, and he shares a few of his books with her to see if anything will jog her memory. It doesn’t, but she enjoys reading with him all the same.
  * That night she thanks him for helping her, saying that she doesn’t know why he’s doing all of this- but she’s grateful for it. 
  * She says his name in her thanks and it leaves him breathless. Like he hasn’t ever heard someone really say his name before. But he desperately does not want to be weird- so he tells her that it’s just what an alchemist does. Helps people. And he knew it was the right thing to do. 



~**~*~*~*~**~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*

  * The next morning Amalthea wakes up first, Varian having stayed up late through the night pouring over his books for solutions to the millions of questions that came with her rescue. 
  * She gets up and starts to walk, then very excitedly exclaims out loud that she’s “REGAINING MUSCLE MASS!”
  * Varian wakes up with a start, though he is overjoyed to hear her use a phrase that he had told her, not quite used to people actually listening to him. 
  * Since she is able to walk now, and he spent all night coming up with a device to test the rock and her blood properly, he decides to tell her they can go to the place where he found her now. 
  * Only she interrupts him before he gets a chance- to excitedly ask if they can please go to her rock now. And then the village. She helps herself to start to straighten up his hair with her hands, brushing the wrinkles in his clothes away and saying he’s obviously ready so now they can go. 
  * He gently corrects her that it was a crystal, but then agrees that yes, they can go now. Since she is still in her pajamas he offers her some of his own clothes, which she gladly accepts; taking the entire bag instead of the few he offered.
  * While changing behind the screen she helps herself to rummage through his clothes and muses out loud about how she’s sure someone in the village will recognize her and help her find her family. 
  * Varian isn’t how he feels about a girl going through his clothes, but he decides that since she isn’t laughing at his underwear that he’ll just have to let it be. 
  * He doesn’t want her to be let down if they don’t find her family right away so he tries to think of something that might deter her from so much focus by saying that they could get something to eat and see if there’s any fun events going on at the village as well. 
  * She likes this idea, and casually says “Like a date! Sure!” And then casually begins to talk about other ways she might find her family in the village.
  * He wants to die. He can’t focus on anything she says even as she throws her nightgown right into his face. He can’t breathe. If the gloves covering his hands could sweat- they would be. His everything is just moms spaghetti. She called it a date.
  * While he’s overanalyzing what she could have possibly meant by calling it a DATE- so FLIPPANTLY- she emerges wearing his clothes; modeling them as if they are fine silk when really they’re just… his old clothes. “Pants! I’m wearing pants! Can you believe it!?” She’s very happy.



  * He fights off his blush and gives her a little clap, telling her Bravo and that she pulls off the outfit better than he ever could. Which is true, because purple really isn’t his color. Why does he even have that shirt? 
  * She starts excitedly asking him if he could add more pockets to her outfit, and do all sorts of modifications. She’s very good at asking for things and he doesn’t mind it.
  * As he’s folding her night gown he asks if she’s ready and her initial excitement begins to fade. 
  * Even though just a second ago she was all gung ho about going out into the world, now she’s hesitant and scared, nervous about what all could happen out there. 
  * She asks Varian what the world is like and he tells her that sometimes it's...Scary. But it's also beautiful and fun and fascinating. 
  * She asks if he can fight things if they get attacked and he’s flattered that she thinks that he can fight. Which, he can after all that’s happened to him. Living out on his own has caused him to get a bit more muscular. But it’s still nice that she mentioned it, because of course the first thing this guy needs is an Ego Boost. 
  * He assures her that he’ll make sure nothing hurts her and she says she trusts him. 
  * They go outside and she notes how different and nice everything feels. It’s not like being in the caravan at all and suddenly she has a lot more energy
  * She reaches out to hold his hand, noticing how sturdy it feels as they walk along beside each other. 
  * She starts asking questions about the town that’s nearby and if he thinks they’ll find her family and slowly the conversation starts to drift off to Old Corona. 
  * Varian starts telling her about his duties and responsibilities back home and how one day it’s going to be his job to lead Old Corona and serve the kingdom
  * He’s a bit hesitant on the matter, like a high school sophomore going to a college job fair 
  * He can’t even remember what he had for breakfast and he’s supposed to just accept that he’s going to be a leader one day, it’s unbelievable 
  * They’re both too caught up in the conversation to realize that they’re at the crystal
  * Amalthea promptly walks head first into it like a goof; proving that her and varian are a lot more alike than originally thought. 
  * Her nose starts bleeding and she’s very happy about this, saying that he won’t have to draw blood after all 
  * Varian, of course, is getting queasy and has to turn away as she realizes that he literally told her a whole thing about his problems with blood
  * An aside for reasons why Varian doesn’t like blood: Sloshy, weird looking, bad color, Not Aesthetic At All, it’s supposed to stay INSIDE YOU FOR A REASON, and in his own words, ‘It just looks squishy, which is ridiculous because it’s a liquid why does it look squishy? I don’t trust that.’ 
  * He sets up a little device; a drill that tunnels into the earth to the base of the crystal and collects the mica flakes then tests them with a sample of her blood to print out an numerical age of the crystal
  * This works and is a good explanation because Alchemy. Please do not google this, just trust that it works for some reason. 
  * While Varian gets his device working, Amalthea is busy holding a handkerchief to her nose to stop the bleeding. Once she’s gotten it under control she asks: "I phink I wamnt fo lookh at it fhile you set uph"
  * Sniffing her nose back to normal, she asks if it’s safe for her to get closer to it. Suddenly, she is visibly nervous. As if she’s afraid touching it might somehow encase her again.
  * Varian reassures her that it’s completely safe as long as she doesn’t try to eat it or something. She blandly informs him that she will do her best not to eat the rock pieces, and steps inside the circle. 
  * All that’s left are pieces of glass and tendrils of vines covered in white flowers. Her heart becomes heavy as she realizes that she doesn’t feel anything. She had expected to feel some sort of connection, a memory- anything at all. But she feels nothing. 
  * Sadly she kneels down and touches the pieces of crystals, and then the flowers, but finally her shoulders slump and she sighs. She realizes that she is nothing but a girl lost in the forest with dirt on her knees. She muses aloud that she supposes whatever this was, isn’t her home anymore. 
  * Varian notices the change in her demeanor and realizes that the place did not trigger any memories for her. He does his best to comfort her by reminding her that a prison is not a home, and maybe whatever happened to trap her in the crystal was something she does not want to remember. He reassures they will surely have more luck in the village nearby where they will have people to ask. 
  * Amalthea is oddly quiet, continuing to touch the vines and glass in hopes of feeling or remembering something. She offers him a sad smile as he tries to encourage her and tells him it’s okay. She’s thankful for all he’s doing for her. Though it’s clear that she is not okay at all.
  * She places her hands on his just as he gets the drill deep enough in the crystal and asks if they can worry about the village another day and just go home. 
  * Varian is alarmed at her sudden vulnerability, but he wants to help her in any way that he can. He says that it’s fine to leave the device to harvest the mica for the day and it might even give them a better reading that way anyways. Plus they might have better luck at the village when it isn’t so early in the morning. 
  * He’s sad that she’s sad, of course. But there is an idiot part of him that is overjoyed that she called his caravan her home. Not just her home but THEIR home. But he reminds himself to start thinking with his brain again and adds that he can totally make her breakfast when they get back. 
  * Amalthea is still quiet, which is how he knows there really must be something wrong with her. But finally she thanks him, and though she has no appetite she gently asks if they can make sweet bread. She mentions that on the way up she saw patches of berries and they could even pick their favorites to add to it. 
  * Varian agrees that it’s a great idea, calling her milady (and making her blush a little) as he helps her up so they can walk together back towards the caravan. 
  * As they walk Varian begins to ramble about different things they can make. He mentions tartberry bread, fairy bread, and then tells her a story about a time that he ate so many candied rose petals that he got sick. Then he immediately becomes embarrassed and admits he has no idea why he told her the last part.
  * Talking to girls is hard.
  * She holds onto his arm as they walk, and laughs a little at his story. She isn’t grossed out by the TMI either. In fact, she tells him that she likes hearing his stories because she’s borrowing his memories until she can find her own. 
  * He thinks that’s a pretty weird thing to say, but also really sweet and endearing. Her laughter makes him smile, and he decides that he would like very much to keep making her smile and continue to be useful to her in any way he can.
  * It makes him feel good that he can help her, even if it’s just by sharing his memories. He promises to try to share only the good ones from now on. 
  * Their conversation about fairy bread and dessert is interrupted as she suddenly sees a rose bush, which she calls a “Rosa gallica”, and asks if she is right.   



  * Varian is astonished and tells her that she’s right, and exclaims how amazing it is! It might be a memory or maybe she’s from a place where they grow. 
  * Amalthea ignores him, though she doesn’t mean to. Quietly, she touches the roses and feels a strange connection, sensing the way they yearn for sunlight and water and how they are deeply entwined with the earth. 
  * Then she shrugs it off and exclaims; “I know! Cool right!?” And begins to pick as many roses as she can, using the excess on the shirt she borrowed from him as a makeshift basket. 
  * They pick roses together, neither of them noticing how she seems to manage to do so without pricking her fingers at all. Varian continues to wear his gloves, and is unfazed as well. 
  * He tells her that they will have to keep showing her new things. The more that she experiences, the more she will remember! 
  * Feeling better, and excited, Amalthea takes his hand and pulls him towards a blueberry patch that she noticed earlier so they could pick berries for their bread. 
  * As they pick berries, he continues to describe the different sweets he wants to make for her. In detail. She wants to try the candied roses very much, and is enthusiastic towards his storytelling. However as they finish and begin to walk together towards the caravan she notices that he is starting to focus more on words like ‘delicious’ and ‘sweet’ and ‘salivating’. Suddenly she hears his stomach growl and immediately without thinking she does her best to alleviate this by shoving a handful of blueberries into his face unprompted. 
  * Stupid boy forget to eat. She fix.
  * It isn’t cute or romantic. He is startled and his cry of protest is now muffled with berries as juice drips down his chin. He does his best to wipe his mouth and chew while managing a "Famk yumph."  




[ Art by Ten ](https://let-me-make-you-proud.tumblr.com/)

  * Amalthea takes a moment to think about how cute he looks like that. In an idiot sort of way. She isn’t sure why she thinks he’s so cute when he doesn’t really appear to be a traditionally ideal partner or mate. Then she smiles as she realizes that she’s just learned another thing about herself. Those things don’t matter to her at all. 
  * Just as soon as he’s managed to swallow all of the berries, she snaps out of her thoughts and begins to ask; “Varian have you ever had a g-” 
  * But she is unable to finish her sentence as the ground caves in and suddenly they are both now falling quite literally into the earth. 



~*~*~~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*

  * They begin to fall down into whatever chasm was below them. 
  * Thinking fast, Varian reaches out and grabs onto her, holding her in a way so that when they land, he’s the one who hits the ground with her on top.
  * He twists his body at the last second, so that he doesn’t land on his back and injure his spine, while still making sure that Amalthea wouldn’t be hitting the hard ground
  * He lands on his hand and hits his leg on a rock and there’s a loud crunch that rings out around them
  * Amalthea still hits the ground with some pain, but is surprised to find that she’s not in excruciating pain. 
  * Then she looks over to Varian and her worry comes back 
  * Before anything else, he turns to her and asks weakly if she’s ok, clearly in pain but trying to be a Big Boy about it.
  * Amalthea takes a quick moment to look around to see if there’s anything she can use to help him. 
  * The cave doesn’t seem to be entirely man made, and is dripping water and covered with a few vines.
  * She assures him that he’s going to be ok and in response he apologizes to her for not watching the path they were on. It’s clear however that he’s NotOk and he’s pretty hurt. 
  * She goes off to try to see if there’s anything that can help him, panicked and worried but also taking a moment to marvel at the place they’ve landed.
  * While walking she notices that the blueberries were squashed against her pants and she pouts. Those were her favorite pants. Her only pants actually. 
  * After a moment she remembers that, oh right, Varian was dying. 
  * Luckily she spots a plant growing in a dripping puddle that at one point might’ve been a waterfall
  * She recognizes the leaves, although she doesn’t know how exactly. She can feel their healing nature within her.
  * Picking some leaves and finding a chipped pot to carry water in, she rushes back to Varian 
  * He’s awake but drifting off so she has to pat his cheek to keep him present in the moment
  * He responds to the cheek pat with “Bu…’m not s...eepy.” Which is not a very reassuring statement
  * She asked what hurts, even though it’s pretty clear that his Everything Hurts
  * As she asks this she also explains that the plant she found is called Valerian, which is ironic. 
  * It sucks and tastes absolutely awful, so she tells him 
  * Then, of course, she tells him that he has to eat it
  * He tells her that his leg hurts, and gives her a Cool Fact that the center of the tongue can’t taste bitterness, only the tip
  * Because even in excruciating pain, Varian will still be Varian.
  * He eats the plant as she goes to clean the wound on his leg, and finds that he almost immediately starts feeling better
  * He’s not gonna be running any marathons or anything, but he’s definitely not dying anymore
  * Suddenly he can sit up, and move his leg around a bit which is good. Wow that plant worked fast. Maybe a bit too fast? But he isn’t in the mood to question it at the moment
  * He’s so excited, he thanks her and begins to talk with his hands, only to realize that one of his hands is damaged, bent and unnaturally twisted, looking like a broken doll’s hand beneath his glove
  * This, of course, causes Amalthea to freak out just a little bit. As one would probably do in a similar situation. 
  * For a moment he doesn’t know why she’s freaking out but then it dawns on him that maybe it possibly has something to do with the fact that his hand now resembles a balled up piece of paper. That would freak out most people.
  * So he tries his best to comfort her
  * He takes off his glove and reveals that his hand is mechanical, a few gears break away and he catches them, but other than that there’s really no harm done, nothing he can’t fix.
  * Amalthea is taken aback, and visibly shocked and a little disturbed.
  * Tentatively, she asks how much of him is mechanical.
  * It turns out that it’s just his hands that are mechanical. Both of them to be exact.
  * Varian is very vague in describing what happened, just offhandedly mentioning something about a lab accident and the plague and a bunch of other weird stuff to try to change the topic. 
  * They talk a bit more about his hands; she asks if he can feel things with them and he says that he modded them to be able to, but just has the pain receptors turned down in case of situations where he, hypothetically, would fall down into a cave and land on his hand after hitting a rock. You know, just Tuesday things.
  * Sensing that he wants to change the subject, she starts explaining the that leaves she gave him could make him feel sleepy and drowsy and asks if he can walk as she muses about the place that they seem to have fallen into 
  * He wiggles around his leg. Wiggly wiggly like a lil wormy. He’s pretty sure he can walk on it.
  * He stands up a bit wobbly and then asks if he can lean on her 
  * The idea of him being so close to her however makes him nervous so he says that he can just use some kind of stick or something else instead
  * She ignores him, as she is known to do, and helps him stand up by putting his arm over her shoulder.
  * He begins to muse that he doesn’t think it’s a natural cave, since there’s nothing around on the surface that could’ve caused such a structure. It’s too particular, too neat and well made
  * Well, not _THAT_ well made if two teens could fall through into it just like that. He knows that he’s recently hit a growth spurt but breaking through the ground is a bit ridiculous
  * Amalthea mentions that the water she filled the jewel encrusted pot with was full of gold and jewelry. 
  * This confuses Varian as he wonders why someone would leave wealth behind, and also why bother making an entire cavern when there were plenty of natural ones nearby. 
  * She suggests maybe someone was hiding, and since it slightly resembles a temple that maybe they were hiding their worship. For some reason the thought of that makes her feel strange, and she is glad that Varian brushes the suggestion off. 
  * He wants to see if he can find any amethysts or crystals nearby that resemble the one he found her in, citing that if there were any that maybe these people had something to do with her imprisonment. 
  * In spite of wanting to know about her past, she doesn’t seem to like that suggestion. Hearing what happened to her out loud makes her uneasy, and she notices that he is leaning heavily against her and having a harder time walking than he probably realizes. His leg has healed, but the valerian root has made him dizzy and unsteady. 
  * She suggests that he be careful, and reminds him that if they can find a way out that they can find a way back in to explore later. Then she is silent for a moment as she looks down at her bare feet pressed to the cold stone ground. 
  * She decides for them that they should get out as soon as they can, especially before nightfall or before he starves to death. 
  * Varian can sense that she is serious, noticing that she is already shivering from the cold. So he drops the exploration idea and agrees that they should find a way out first. 
  * Together they go deeper into the darkness of the cavern, hoping to find some sort of exit. Amalthea notes that many of the plants they pass by don’t naturally occur underground, but decides not to stop to examine them. 
  * As they continue through a dark tunnel, slowly glowing spots begin to appear on the walls above and around them illuminating the way. Amalthea smiles as she whispers that they are glow worms.
  * After a bit of silence, Amalthea quietly and gently apologizes for how she reacted to discovering that his hands were mechanical. She knows that her initial reaction had hurt him in a way that he seemed to be used to. 
  * She adds, "I'm missing stuff too. You met me when I was without so many pieces and you never looked at me the way I looked at you."
  * She seems so solemn and ashamed for the way she acted, and Varian quickly tells her that it’s okay. 
  * He says that he’s used to people being surprised, and then tries to make a joke about how she’s the one who got the ‘bad hand’ since she has no memory and now she’s stuck with a weirdo with robot hands. 
  * An awkward silence passes before Amalthea begins to quietly tell Varian a story. She isn’t sure how she knows the story, but it comes to her more like a feeling than a memory. 
  * The story is of a man named Shimon who lost his arm and prayed to the Gods to restore it so he might be of use to his people and perhaps one day find a wife. His prayers remained unanswered, and one day he traveled with his people through a village in peril. Their princess was trapped in a cave, with only enough space for them to slip her food and water. No adult could fit through, and the children were too afraid to try. Shimon however, was able to slip right through due to his missing arm. Inside the cave he found the princess, but she hid in fear. She told him that her parents hid her away, because they were ashamed that she was born with only one arm. Shimon rescued and married the princess, and together they were whole. The Gods had answered his prayers, though it was not in the way he asked. 
  * Amalthea adds to her story at the end that “Sometimes we have to be missing parts of ourselves before we can find great things.”
  * Varian is moved, and silent as he takes in her words. He finally replies with a story of his own, though it is much shorter and he knows it isn’t as elegant as hers. 
  * He tells her that long ago the Greeks thought that every person was born with two heads, four arms, and four legs. And then Zeus, fearing their power, split them in two, causing every person to constantly search for their other half.
  * Amalthea is quiet as she listens to his story, thinking about how sad it is to be missing a part of yourself and unable to find them. It makes her heart ache as she longs for a family she doesn’t know.
  * He notices that it is becoming easier for him to walk, though he isn’t sure if it’s from her medicine or her reassuring words. Maybe it’s both. 
  * Varian then thanks her for her story, and tells her that in his village nobody ever made him feel like he was incomplete. But they never made him feel like he wasn’t incomplete either. That when word got around his village about his hands, people expected him to feel that way. He muses that it’s like that with a lot of things. 
  * He seems sad, so Amalteha tries to gently deter the conversation. She smiles and tells him that she would love to see his village someday and that she hopes her village won’t be far from hers. 
  * Varian says that he would love for her to see it, and spends a great deal of time describing it as she listens happily and imagines that she might live somewhere like that one day. 
  * He feels homesick, but also guilty, because he still has a feeling that his home is not where he belongs. He longs to see more, and learn more. And he knows he can’t do that at home. 
  * She is about to ask why he left if it was so wonderful, a little jealous that he had a home he willingly left when she was aching for one herself. But the thought is interrupted as she notices something. 
  * She lets go of his hand and exclaims that she recognizes a plant, and then immediately gets on her hands and knees in a patch of dirt and begins to dig. 
  * She pulls out a large yellow root vegetable, and tells him that it’s a burdock.
  * Varian is amazed that she knows what it is, especially because it’s a vegetable that he doesn’t recognize at all. He asks if she remembers anything else, citing that her memories seem to be triggered by plant life and what a great clue it is. 
  * He starts to ramble about what it could mean, like how perhaps her village is nearby and exports flowers, but his voice trails off as another feeling of guilt hits him. Of course he wants her to find her home. But that also means that she would go to that home and… away from him. 
  * He knows that it’s selfish, and he’s only just met her, but having someone to talk to has made him realize how lonely he was before. Someone who actually wants to hear what he has to say. 
  * But he focuses on her instead as she describes the plant happily. Helping her is the most important thing, and then continuing on his journey. Stick to the plan Varian. Think with your brain. 
  * She tells him that it’s for eating, and can even be consumed raw. A favorite among warriors and voyagers for it’s high nutrients and starch which make it rather filling. 
  * She’s talking about this thing like it’s a delicious stack of pancakes but really it’s just a dirt covered thick twisty carrot. But he actually finds it kind of… endearing. 
  * Now _her_ voice begins to trail off as a thought hits her. Of course she wants find her true home. But if her home is out here somewhere, and his village is far away. That would mean-
  * They both sense that something is wrong with the other, a feeling neither of them can quite place. And it seems like they might actually discuss it like mature humans. 
  * But alas! She shoves the burdock vegetable in Varians fans and demands he take a bite. Effectively shifting the tone of the entire conversation. 
  * Success! Wait, what? Yes okay, success! The confusing emotions have been quelled.
  * Varian has no choice but to take a bite, and wearily he admits that it doesn’t taste too bad. He asks if they grow around here naturally, and suggests maybe they gather some in case they have to travel far. Not realizing that he said ‘WE’ have to travel far and not ‘I’ have to travel far. 
  * Amalthea is overjoyed to explain something to HIM for once, and gets ahead of herself as she rambles about burdocks super exciting ability to self pollinate due to burr shaped seeds that can travel far and survive various weather conditions. 
  * She picks a few and hands them over to Varian, then boasts that she could probably grow some in less than a week if they took some home and starts to list ways of preparing it. Pickling, dried, boiled, steamed- 
  * Varian smiles like an idiot with his mouth full of dirt covered root vegetable. 
  * She pauses for a moment as she realizes that she’s talking as if she is going to stay with him for a long while even though she knows full well that her home is not his little caravan. But as she sees him nod happily, stuffing his face with a raw vegetable as he shoves the gathered burdocks into his backpack… she decides maybe she’ll just- pretend for a little while. 
  * With a little skip in her step she turns and continues to walk down the corridor, urging him to follow behind her as she tells him a little more about the vegetable. She’s proud of herself for helping him after all he’s done for her, and adds with a playful smile that she might not be so bad at this ‘taking care of him’ thing after all. 
  * Varian is very happy with this, and continues to eat the vegetable as he thinks of recipes he could come up with using it and how cool it would be to cook things that she grew. He casually mentions that she is definitely pretty good at taking care of him but apologizes that she had to do so and reassures her that she won’t have to do it for much longer. 
  * Amalthea gives him a playful pouty face and teases him by saying ‘aww’ and that he looked so cute all helpless, like a little fluffy ratted up badger. 
  * Then she realizes that if she’s flirting, she’s doing it very badly. Because nobody would want to be called that. 
  * She blushes and tries again almost immediately. Vole? Beaver? Oh God his teeth. 
  * But to her surprise, he laughs, and they share a smile as he says that he’ll take the badger ‘compliment’ instead. 
  * She manages to tell him that she thinks he’s a lot cuter than a badger, just as she bumps into a heavy stone door blocking their path.
  * Great, now what? (She actually says this out loud, groaning and rolling her eyes.)
  * Varian thinks it’s pretty typical that once someone finally calls him cute, a literal stone door would appear and block them from continuing. But he decides to let it slide in favor of finding a way out so they might live to awkwardly flirt another day. If he’s lucky.
  * He immediately gets down to examine the small crack beneath the door in an attempt to feel if there is air flow behind it. 
  * Amalthea raises her eyebrow, confused, and then stares at him like he’s a fool, telling him that he’s not going to fit through that crack if that’s his great idea. 
  * Frustrated, and growing colder, she huffs her bangs out of her eyes and tries to push the door open. Of course she cannot move a gigantic stone door, which frustrates her even more. So she sighs and taps her chin in thought. 
  * Finally she comes up with a solution. They should blow it up. 🧨💥
  * Varian admits that he’s not usually opposed to blowing things up as a solution but he reminds her that doing so could create a cave in and make them, you know, die. He adds that it’s not a push or pull kind of door, and begins to examine it more closely. 
  * Instead of appreciating his musings, Amalthea crosses her arms, a little embarrassed at her attempt to push the door open, and mimics his words with her mouth while his back is turned. 
  * When he turns back to her, she stops, not wanting him to actually SEE her throwing a tantrum. 
  * He comes up with an idea, and asks her to pull on his mechanical finger. 
  * She stares between him and his very strange robotic hand for a few seconds before shrugging, “Sure, okay!” 
  * Pulling the finger makes it pop out of the socket, and reveals a small series of pins and gears. He takes a few pieces out and explains that if he can get up to the top of the door maybe he can release the lock mechanism. 
  * She blandly asks how he’s going to reach up there, which flusters him a little because he actually had gotten a lot taller in the last six months but he doesn’t really want to admit that he only just got his growth spurt which flusters him even more. Finally he manages to compose himself enough to ask if she thinks she can do it if he lifts her up and walks her through the process of releasing the lock.
  * She’s a little busy focusing on his blushing cheeks and the way that his voice cracked the more he tried to insist that he was a big boy. It’s cute, and distracting, but she manages to keep up with his plan and nods. Though she adds a playful, “Are you sure you can lift me.” at the end. 
  * It makes him blush even more, and he tells her that he’s actually very strong, citing all of the strength needed to lift iron and metal materials that he works with and the gigantic machines he’s constructed. After he’s gone on about this for a while, she gently nudges his shoulder, letting him know that of course she knew he could lift her. He got her back to the caravan when she was unconscious after all. Now he’s pretty embarrassed, but also validated. It feels nice.
  * Finally, they get back to their plan. He lifts her up (well actually she literally climbs on him like he’s a stepladder), and carefully walks her through the process of unlocking the door. He’s impressed with how quick of a learner she is, noting that she followed his instructions exactly and even did some of it on her own without his help. 
  * When the door clicks open, he loosens his hold on her so she drops in his arms and exclaims happily that he knew she could do it. 
  * She wobbles a little and puts her hands to his chest to hold herself steady, happily stating that she knew she could do it too. But then softens and adds with a thankful smile that she couldn’t have done it without his help.
  * Then, realizing that she’s like, totally in his arms- she pulls back and marvels that the door is open. As if they didn’t just see it happen with their own eyes. 
  * It’s dark inside, but Varian uses his finger to ignite a tiny flame that he calls a ‘lighter’. One of his own inventions. And holds onto her hand to guide her as they walk together through the door. 



~*~**~**~**~*~*~**~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*

  * The room appears to be some sort of laboratory. Tables with empty broken bottles scattered about and notebooks upon notebooks stacked onto one another. Sheets of paper scribbled on hastily were scattered on the floor, and large pillars holding up cases and cases of finished and incomplete experiments of all types. It seems ancient and futuristic at the same time. 
  * Amalthea does her best to hide her disappointment. She had hoped that maybe there would be something for her behind the door. But it’s another series of cold machines that she doesn’t understand. It makes her feel even more alone, and she sighs. 
  * She does however manage a smile, knowing that it was selfish of her to think that there was something for her behind that door, and quietly tells him that this seems like his kind of place. 
  * Varian is too mesmerized by the entire place to even begin to notice what she’s feeling or that she’s shivering from the cold. He gasps that this place is incredible.
  * He walks around the room, lighting a few lanterns along the way before closing his mechanical hand back up. 
  * Somehow in here, he feels at home. He can see signs of alchemy everywhere, written across the scrolls and in the formulas scribbled on the wall around them. He finds himself lost in thought as he imagines how he could make this place his own and fix it up so he could study alchemy and work on experiments underground forever. 
  * Finally, exclaims out loud, as if unable to believe it himself. “Whoever lived in this place before us was an alchemist."
  * Amalthea notices how much this place means to him, and watches him quietly, her smile more genuine as she realizes that this is very much his place. She’s happy for him, but there is a small pang in her heart as she longs for something like this for herself. A place where she immediately knows she belongs. She wonders if she’ll ever find it. 
  * He lights a lantern, but struggles to hold it and also carefully look through the remains of the laboratory at the same time in his excitement. She notices this and takes the lantern, holding it for him. 
  * Softly, she asks if he had a place like this back in Old Corona. She says the name of his village on purpose, trying her best to commit it to memory. 
  * At first he’s excited to tell her all about his lab back home; even if it wasn’t this big it was still large. 
  * He tells her how his dad gave him a whole wing of the house, so much space and room...all away from Quirin.
  * Suddenly his excitement is a bit more withdrawn as he talks. 
  * He thinks about how, even though his dad gave him so much, they were always separate. Quirin cut out a little corner for Varian and expected him to stay there with his alchemy. Away from him. 
  * It was _tolerance_ , not acceptance.
  * He changes the topic as he looks through the text and formulas, remarking that he recognizes some of the symbols to represent the mind. 
  * He thinks that maybe these could be the key to getting her memory back 
  * However Amalthea stops him from continuing to talk about her needs, she can see how much a place like this excites him and wants him to be able to live in the moment and just enjoy himself without the need to be useful to someone else.
  * She tells him that he shines bright in a place like this. 
  * He has to take a moment after that, because he never thought that someone else could be happy just seeing him happy. He never knew that his happiness wasn’t just annoying or tolerated when convenient 
  * In the moment he’s very happy, then goes to lean on her to tell her that she’ll find her spark one day too, only to feel that she’s chilled to the touch.
  * She admits that she’s cold, and tired too. 
  * It’s as if the further away from the sun she is the weaker she feels. For the first time since she’s woken up, she’s hungry, but not for food. For sunlight. 
  * Now Varian is getting worried, as one should when someone tells them that they feel cold and tired and drained. 
  * He takes off his vest and shirt, leaving him in an undershirt, and tells her to put them on to help keep her warm
  * She gets a bit flustered at first, seeing him take off his vest and shirt until she spies his undershirt. 
  * She graciously puts them on and tries to joke about how she feels like a homeless beggar, then gets sad again when she remembers that she _is_
  * Seeing a boy take off his shirt while almost freezing and reminding herself that she’s homeless is not a good combo in the slightest. 
  * All she wants to do is lay down, so she does. Just right there on the floor. 
  * She tells Varian to enjoy the room but he lets her know that he can’t enjoy it if she’s sitting there cold, so he goes to sit down beside her.
  * He doesn’t want to touch her without permission, so he asks if she would like him to hold her for body warmth. 
  * She accepts, and is too tired and cold to make a quip or playful retort, which makes him realize just how serious this is. 
  * Carefully, he holds her in his arms, trying to warm her up. 
  * This is the closest he’s ever been to a pretty girl and it would be great if she wasn’t freezing to death.
  * She feels awful that he’s in a place seemingly designed just for him and now instead of exploring, he’s stuck taking care of her like a silly little summer vegetable; like a tomato. 
  * “I’m sorry. I’m a tomato.” She whines, sadly.
  * He thinks to himself that if she’s a tomato, that she’s the cutest one in the world. But he’s very sure not to say that out loud. Even though it’s adorable. What if he called her a tomato in affection? What if she liked it? What if he made them matching sweaters?



  * No. Don’t be weird, Varian. She’s literally dying. He manages a small laugh, and then shifts so they can sit comfortably with her in his arms. 
  * She admits to him that she’s very tired and would like to shut her eyes, but she is afraid to fall asleep when she feels like this. 
  * Varian promises that he won’t let anything happen to her. He says he’ll let her sleep for a little bit, here next to the lanterns warmth, and keep track of her heart rate and pulse to be sure that she’ll wake up. She murmurs, without hesitation, that she trusts him.
  * As she cuddles close she notices that he has freckles on his neck and going down to his shoulders. She thinks this is very cute and tells him so, making him blush.
  * He’s also a little glad that she keeps shutting her eyes so she can’t actually see that blush. 
  * She absentmindedly asks for him to tell her a happy memory of his, since she has none of her own to comfort her during this time. She could really use the distraction.
  * He thinks to himself that she’s so much like Persephone, beautiful and earthly, forced down into the cold depths where she didn’t belong. 
  * He tries to think of a good memory and decides to tell her about something warm. 
  * He tells her about Old Corona, and how they didn’t have any hot running water so baths were always cold.
  * However, whenever he got really sick his dad would move him to the couch in the living room and bundle him up all nice and warm, getting him lots of warm food and drinks. Varian would sleep there all day while Quirin heated up cauldron after cauldron of warm water until he had enough to heat up the biggest basin that they had in the spare stores. 
  * After the basin was all full Quirin would leave and let him get clean in warm water, in front of the warm fire, then when he was done his dad would read stories to him until he fell asleep. 
  * This is what inspired him and made him want to supply hot running water to all of Old Corona. 
  * "He would've done that every day if I'd asked. If I really wanted it I know he would've spent all of his free time at night warming up water by the fireplace and filling up that basin, even if I wasn’t sick. I could see it in his eyes. That's why I never asked him to. Because I knew he would."
  * "I'd like to think that we're the same in that way. Doing things because...it comes from love. I never realized how much he loved me until I didn't have him. And I don't think...he realized how much I loved him until I left... "
  * Amalthea listens to his story quietly, closing her eyes as he absentmindedly plays with her hair. She can feel his joy when he talks about home, but she is also sad for the pain that seems to come along with it. She thanks him, and tells him that she liked that memory.
  * Being here with him, hearing his stories, and feeling him touch her makes her feel more real than she has since she woke up. Without memories she was starting to feel like maybe she didn’t even really exist. But she knows that to him she does. 
  * She pats his chest and smiles sadly, telling him that it sounds like he misses home. They share a quiet look, and she looks away as she laments that she has so much to catch up on when she finally finds her home; like trying new foods and laughing at strange things and maybe even going on her first date.
  * She’s quiet for another moment as a new feeling washes over her. It’s cold, and she can feel her body weakening, and more than ever she wants to live. Because there’s still so much left to do. 
  * Suddenly, she begins to cry. Not a sob, but silent tears that make her eyes look like glass. She holds onto the collar of his shirt as she tells him something that somehow she knows that she’s said before in her life, but she can’t remember when or why. “I’m only sixteen years old… I don’t want to die.”  



  * That’s a lot. The sentence cuts through the air, and Varian suddenly feels so much sadness for her. He realizes that she is truly alone, and now she thinks that she is going to die without a chance to live the life she’d only just begun. 
  * He immediately holds her tighter, and tells her that she won’t. He won’t let her die here. He tells her that they will get her back into the sunlight, and everything will be okay.
  * He then promises her that she’ll get to experience so many new and wonderful things when they go to the village, in hopes that it will keep her mind off of literally everything else.
  * She asks if he’s ever been on a real date before and he says that he hasn’t been on a real _or_ a fake date ever in his life. 
  * He tells her that there weren’t a lot of people his age who lived in old corona, and the ones who did never really took intensive interest. 
  * He assures her that she’ll go on a real date with some tall jacked dude who’s as handsome as she is pretty. 
  * She goes to tell him that he’s pretty tall himself, and calls him out for calling her pretty
  * Of course he’s flustered by that and tries to explain that Logically She Is Pretty, but just ends up sticking his foot in his mouth honestly. He accidentally tells her that she’s probably the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen and then he wants to die.
  * Amalthea finds this more charming than stupid and muses about how the others in his village were idiots to not bother getting to know him; he’s kind and caring, taking care of her even if there isn’t a reward in it for him. 
  * He replies that he doesn’t need a reward for doing the right thing and she tells him how extraordinary he is. 
  * Of course, he doesn’t believe this and confesses that he’s done things he’s not proud of in the past. 
  * This prompts her to tell him that whoever he’s running from, whoever he was in the past, isn’t who he is now and who he is now is someone to be very proud of. 
  * Still, even at her insistence, he has to disagree, telling her that he’s been the villain of too many people’s stories to honestly consider himself someone to be proud of, even with how far he’s come. 
  * She asks him, a bit quietly as she closes her eyes to rest against his chest, what exactly he’s done. So he tells her, because he feels like she deserves to know the kind of person he is.
  * He explains what happened in the series through seasons one and three in his own words.



"Back in my village, these black rocks started to grow. They were sharp and unbreakable. They destroyed homes and hurt people, ruined our crops and poisoned our water. People were dying. A lot of good people were dying."

He paused, licking his lips in contemplation. 

"And the king knew about it. He knew what these rocks were and why they were there. But he was safe on his precious little island, with the rest of the rich and wealthy and-"

Another deep breath, controlling his rising anger.

"He wasn't the only one who lied though. My dad, he told me not to worry. Not to try to help. When he went to the king, he said that we needed more land for farming, he didn't tell him what was really going on. And I was mad at him that he would just sit there and let these people, _our_ people, suffer because politics is all about playing the right moves and sacrificing a few pawns."

All this time, up until a year ago, he thought it was Rapunzel he hated, Rapunzel who'd broken her promise.

"The princess promised to help but when I was trying to find a solution dad barged in and my hand slipped with the formula. We had a fight and the chemical reaction encased him in amber and the Princess couldn't help. I thought she was lying but I know that we...we were both just kids in a rough situation. It wasn't our responsibility. Taking care of all of this, being the only ones to seek out the truth. We were just kids." 

They were still just kids.

"I tried to ask others for help. Adults. Adults who should've known better. Who **SHOULD** have been the ones to deal with this in the first place. They...they beat me up. Attacked me. Thought I had attacked their princess. So I...I gave them what they wanted. I became the person they lied about and told themselves I was."

“I attacked the royals, tried to force them to free my father. Ended up in jail. The king promised he’d help me but he just threw me in the dungeon the second the princess wasn’t there. I fell in with the wrong crowd. These separatists who were more like serpents. Speaking pretty words like ‘freedom’ and ‘revolution’ and ‘equality’ when all they really wanted was control. I helped them and then when I realized that they weren’t who I thought they were, I started helping the princess again and we stopped them. Got my dad back. Happily ever after.”

So many mistakes, so many errors. 

“I always thought I hated her. Rapunzel. But she was just as stuck as I was, fighting a war for our parents; doing their jobs as they refused to acknowledge that something was wrong. We weren’t supposed to be there, we weren’t supposed to be making these decisions. That’s no excuse for what I did, how much of a terrible person I am but I left home because...because I just…”

He brought a hand up to his face, covering his eyes as he tried to choke down sobs. 

“I couldn’t even look at him. I love my dad so much but every time I see his face, hear him saying how proud he is of me, I just wish I could hate him. I had to choose between our people and him before I knew that that was even a decision I would have to make. And if I go back there I know I’ll have to make that choice for the rest of my life and I know I’ll always make the right choice and it will feel so wrong that I’ll hate myself for it, for the rest of my life.”

  * That’s a whole heck of a lot that she wasn’t expecting. And though stories of some of his actions do alarm her, she can tell that his remorse is genuine and that he has not been given proper time to heal. 
  * He begins to cry, and she strokes his face gently with her fingers to let him know that it’s okay. It’s okay to cry. 
  * She knows that she can’t fix his pain. She can’t heal it, and she can’t save him. But she wants more than anything for him to know that he’s capable of doing it himself. And he doesn’t have to be alone while he does it. 
  * Finally, when she has a chance- she tells him that she’s sorry that he’s been so alone, even when surrounded by people he loved. She reminds him that he’s a good person, and states that a good person would not have as much remorse for his actions as he does. 
  * Quietly, she laments that it isn’t fair. The world should just let them be teenagers. But it didn’t really end up that way for either of them. 
  * Her kindness makes him cry even more, because he hasn’t like- really experienced that ever. He tries to apologize, saying that he’s supposed to be helping her and not blubbering like a big baby. 
  * He holds onto her hand and tells her that he’s doing his best, and that it’s hard- but he knows he has to heal and get better himself. He explains to her finally, that is the reason why he was out here alone. To save himself. But he adds that finding her changed things, and he vows to help her find where she belongs. 
  * He uses the word vow specifically, because he believes promises can be broken. But a vow is certain. 
  * She smiles, grateful for his words, but tells him that he doesn’t need to apologize for being afraid or scared. That he’s allowed to feel things. 
  * She also reminds him that he doesn’t need to be useful to her for him to matter. And that she likes the boy who found her, freckles and alchemy and silly jokes. Not just the boy who vows to save her. 
  * She’s tired, and he’s emotional, and she rests her forehead against his with a gentle sigh as they hold eachothers hands. She whispers to him that they don’t have to be alone anymore. 
  * It’s a sweet moment. And he thanks her for seeing more in him. She jokes with him that she still thinks he’s an idiot. But she kind of likes idiots. And maybe they’ll find out she’s an even bigger idiot, who knows. 
  * They talk for a little while, about who she might be when her memories return, and she reluctantly tells him that he doesn’t have to stay with her if he doesn’t want to. That she doesn’t want to stop him from his journey. 
  * He hates that. But he tries not to panic.
  * He nervously tells her that he’ll leave her in the next village if that’s what she wants. 
  * She tells him that he should do what’s best for him, and asks playfully if he really wants to have to hold her like this every time it gets a little cold. 
  * Without thinking, he replies instantly. Yes he does. 
  * He immediately tries to cover it up with a laugh, telling her that maybe they’ll find out she’s rich and then she’ll have tons of blankets and huge fireplaces to keep her warm and she won’t need him anyways. 
  * She can feel his heartbeat race against her as she realizes that he’s the kind of nervous that boys get around girls. She’s never felt that before. And she’s never been able to BE a teenager before. 
  * Thinking that surely they both deserve even a shred of normalcy in all of this, and longing to feel like someone who really exists, she looks into his eyes and asks him with full confidence:
  * “Varian? Do you want to kiss me?”
  * He does! Holy shit he does! But also now he can’t breathe and he can barely gulp. She’s so confident and unashamed, and he wishes that he could even be a fraction of that. 
  * He feels like he might be in a dream, and finally after a long silence he manages to say that yes he would- but only if it would be alright with her. 
  * She tells him it would be alright, but then loses HER confidence as she bites her lip and mumbles that he doesn’t have to just because she asked him like if he doesn’t want to whatever it’s cool no big deal-
  * He interrupts her to gently say that he’s very sure that he wants to, but waits for her to make the first move just in case she changes her mind. He wants to leave it as her choice. 
  * They kiss, in the sort of innocent way that two teenagers would.   




[ Art by Oana ](https://1a-lchemist.tumblr.com/)

  * After a bit of surprised silence as they process their feelings, Amalthea playfully asks him if he kisses all the girls he rescues in the forest. 
  * He uses a false bravado and insists that he only kisses the ones he wants to. They laugh together, and she moves to kiss him again. 
  * This time she tries to open her mouth like a romance novel. But she’s so tired, that opening her mouth makes him yawn right in his face. And it’s not a cute yawn either. It’s big and gross and loud. 
  * She insists that it’s a tired yawn and not a bored yawn and he’s absolutely smitten with everything as he tells her that it’s okay. 
  * He suggests that she sleep a little to gather some energy, and he promises he’ll wake her up before it gets too late so they can get a way out.
  * Instead of insisting otherwise she cuddles up beneath his chin, and immediately falls asleep. Snoring, and drooling. 
  * He likes that. 
  * He stays up as she sleeps, making sure that she stays warm and comfortable 
  * After a few hours he wakes her up, sensing that soon it’ll be dark outside and they won’t have much time to get her back to the caravan before she gets too cold
  * She wants five more minutes and any other time Varian would totally give into her request, but right now she’s about an hour away from freezing in the night so he says ‘Maybe Not.’ 
  * They go to the doors around the chamber they’re in and try to see if one of them has airflow coming out of it. Amalthea feels fresh air from under one door so that’s the one they pick
  * Varian stands there being pretty and useless 
  * Behind the door is a tunnel covered in glow worms to light the way. They head in, hoping that this is the way out.
  * As they walk, Amalthea asks if that was his first time kissing someone.
  * He hesitates for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say and seems to freeze up.  



  * After a second he tells her that she was his first kiss with a _girl_.
  * She’s about to comment before they smack head first into another door.



**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**

  * Behind the door is a gigantic room, with a large chasm in the center and a mechanical bridge that is facing the wrong direction. 



  * Amalthea walks to the edge to see that below there are hundreds of sharp black rocks, left over from the moonstones search for the sundrop. 
  * Varian observes a wall covered in thorny plants, and sees that there are three potions hidden amongst the vines. He calls Amalthea over to look.   



  * The three potions are labeled, “Body”, “Mind”, and “Soul. Beneath them carved into the stone it is written: “Bring Back What Once Was Mine.”
  * Varian observes the mechanisms and concludes that selecting one will trigger the bridge to line up properly so they may cross. It appears that taking more than one will again misalign the bridge. 
  * They must take one and only one. 
  * Amalthea takes a moment to think it over. The potions appear to be able to restore a part of you that you are missing. Body, Soul, or Mind. Her first thought is herself, her memories. The mind potion will surely restore them. 
  * As she’s thinking Varian tries to touch the plants, and suddenly flowers with snapping teeth bloom and bite at him. They shoot out a pollen into the air making him cough. 
  * She teases him at first that they don’t like him, and carefully extends her hands towards the plants. They seem to like her, actually letting her pet them and curling into her touch. 
  * Varian thinks this is extraordinary and he tries to say so, but he suddenly cannot stop coughing. 
  * Amalthea realizes that the pollen they released into the air is poison, and much like the rose thorns which did not harm her- the pollen seems to have no effect on her either. 
  * She states that they have to go and there isn’t any time as she slaps her hand over his mouth and orders him not to breathe in. 
  * Varian covers his eyes with his goggles and struggles to breathe, gasping for air as he begs her to grab a potion. 



  * Amalthea falters, but seeing Varian cough and struggle as he covers his mouth with his broken mechanical hands makes her jerk away from the mind potion. 
  * She thinks about how much he has done for her. His vow to help her find her memories no matter what it takes. And how much he’s already given up and suffered in his short life. 
  * There isn’t much time, and Varian is now struggling to stay awake. 
  * She grabs the body potion, and pulls him to run with her as the bridge moves in the right direction. 
  * The potion is meant to be handled by an alchemist, and the bottle burns her bare hand. 
  * Still, she doesn’t hand it to Varian, knowing that he would insist that she take it for herself in hopes that it might somehow still restore her memories. Instead, she holds onto it tightly as it burns her skin. 
  * They run through the door and it slams shut, locking the poison behind them. 
  * Varian falls to the ground as he coughs and sputters, accidentally pulling Amalthea with him. 
  * The potion is still searing her hand, and unable to hold onto it any longer she does the only thing she can think of. She yanks the cork out of the bottle and splashes the potion inside right onto him, covering his hands and chest. 
  * The moisture in the air helps him recover from his coughing, but otherwise there is no change. He says thank you, assuming that she had done it to try to reverse whatever potential effects the poison had on him. 
  * Amalthea is shattered. She stares at his mechanical hands and then down at her burned and singed one. She begins to cry, hard, sobbing as she repeats over and over that it didn’t work. She’d chosen the body potion to restore him and it didn’t work. 
  * Varian immediately moves to hold her, cradling her in his arms as he realizes that the strange smell in the air is the burned skin of her hand. He also realizes that she had chosen the body potion for him, thinking that it would restore his hands. 
  * She calls herself stupid and he does his best to calm her, telling her that she’s not stupid. She’s selfless. 
  * He can’t believe that she chose something for him when there was a potential key to unlock her memories right in front of her. He thanks her, and tells her that nobody has ever done something like that for him before. 
  * He manages to calm her down enough to get her to show him her hands, but when she sees what they look like she starts to cry again, admitting out loud that it hurts. She’s scared, and the world hurts and it isn’t fair.
  * He focuses on her hands, wrapping them gently with strips of his shirt and then wiping her tears away. He tells her it’s okay, she doesn’t have to be brave all of the time and that he’s here for her too. 
  * Finally, she catches her breath through her sobs and asks if they can please just go home. 
  * He says of course, and holds her until she stops crying. 
  * Once she’s finished, she grabs his face, her own streaked with tears, and kisses him. The kiss is firm, but then tired as she breathes against him and whispers “Okay let’s go home.”  




[ Art by Oana ](https://1a-lchemist.tumblr.com/)

  * It breaks his heart. He can feel the desperation and loneliness in the kiss. He realizes that she doesn’t have anywhere to go, and she doesn’t know what to do either. All she has is him, and he wants so much to help her find somewhere so she doesn’t have to ever look this sad again. 
  * Together, they walk up the stairs towards the exit of the cavern, and head back to the caravan. 
  * He thinks to himself that she called it home again. And he realizes that he’d never really considered it even his home before. But now as they see the timed oil lamp illuminating the small caravan in the distance- it finally _does_ feel like home. 
  * He reminds her as they walk, something that she told him earlier. “We don’t have to be alone anymore.” 



~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~**~**~**~*~

**End Chapter One**

**\----------------**

[ **Varibean** ](https://varibean.tumblr.com/) **||** [ **Strapple** ](http://starxapple.tumblr.com/)

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**A03**

**||Chapter Two >>**


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